South Korea III Cranes in the DMZ

Towards the end of the holiday and the year, we had a 2-day trip to Cheorwon with our guide, Mr Byoungwoo Lee, of Birding Korea, mainly to see cranes in their wintering site in the DMZ. And it was a wonderful trip, full of birds as well as delicious (&spicy!) Korean food, all thanks to Mr Byoungwoo and a farmer and conservationist, Mr Choi.

At the gate of the Crane Observatory in the DMZ:) Supposedly, seven species of cranes can be observed in the area.

In the DMZ, the land is quite flat and farmland (mostly for rice) is spread out as far as one can see like this;

White-naped Cranes (Manazuruマナヅル) were the most abundant cranes there.

graceful figure...

Red-crowned Cranes (Tanchoタンチョウ) were foraging in small groups including this year's young ones, which have orangey heads.

Red-crowned cranes are the most well-known crane species in Japan - when Japanese people say cranes (Tsuruツル), most of the time, they mean red-crowned cranes. 

White-naped cranes & Red-crowned cranes

Mr Choi, who's been observing cranes in the area for 25 years or more, had an amazing eye and spotted an odd one in a large flock from miles away.

A Hooded Crane (Nabezuruナベヅル) was mixed with White-naped and Red-crowned cranes. 

(the second from the right)

A Common Crane (Kurozuruクロヅル) was on the far field with other cranes.

A Sandhill Crane (Kanadazuruカナダヅル) was in another mixed flock.

We saw 5 species of cranes within a few hours. How could Mr Choi spot the odd ones! must have lots of experiences and love for birds, I believe. He grows rice organically there during the summer and keeps track of the cranes in the winter in the DMZ. He's also been exchanging information with the people in the crane wintering grounds in Hokkaido and Kyushu, Japan. 

Lovely photos taken by our guide Byoungwoo

The URL for Mr Byoungwoo Lee's "Birding Korea" site
https://www.birdingkorea.com/

South Korea II

The Seoul Forest covers a large area near the Han and has woodlands, wetlands, ponds, reedbeds and lawns.

Good habitat for wildlife near water

Elegant Bunting (Miyama-hojiroミヤマホオジロ)

Daurian Redstart (Jobitakiジョウビタキ)

Hawfinch (Shimeシメ)

Vinous-throated Parrotbill (Daruma-enagaダルマエナガ)

There was a flock of over 50 of the parrotbill in the thicket but their movement was so quick I failed to get very clear shots!

Brambling (Atoriアトリ) & Tree Sparrow (Suzumeスズメ) - can you spot them?

Oriental Turtle Dove (Kijibatoキジバト)

Secret Gardens in Changdeokgung Palace

The water was completely frozen!

Gyongmyo Shrine

Mung bean Pancakes (bindae-tteok) in the market

It was a challenge to order what we wanted in the market - the lady who took our order and I somehow misunderstood each other and we were horrified when she brought us a huge plate of yukhoe (beef tartare)! We got the pancakes and sushi-rolls (gimbap) in the end. It was part of fun on holiday:) phew!

South Korea I

It was extremely hard towards the end of the year 2019 for both of us and the reward for ourselves at the end was a holiday (birding, of course!) in South Korea. YAY!

Gwanghwamum

The weather was quite mild in South Korean terms while we were there, and it was very lucky. The temperature could have gone down to -30c!

Tofu hotpot & kimchi & veggies

A meal was always accompanied with kimchi & cooked vegetables/seaweed/bracken  (most of them were as spicy as kimchi) in small bowls for everyone at the table for sharing.

The birds we saw in Seoul were

Naumann's Thrush (Hachijo-tsugumiハチジョウツグミ)

Common Magpie (Kasasagiカササギ)

Chinese Grosbeak (Koikaruコイカル)

Coal Tit (Higaraヒガラ)

Marsh Tit (Hashibutogaraハシブトガラ)

Varied Tit (Yamagaraヤマガラ)

In the city centre, common magpies and brown-eared bulbuls were the two most abundant bird species. Interestingly, there were no crows (thick-billed or carrion) in the centre at all.

Rare Visitor

Friends and acquaintances were talking about the Red-breasted Flycatcher (Nishi-ojirobitaki) being spotted in the park adjacent to the museum, so how can I resist!

It seemed to be staying there till the beginning of the year 2020 but decided to move on perhaps? (and no more camera people in the park).

Curlews

Oh it's already September...
I was lucky to be involved in some bird surveys this summer and time was just flying by (when having fun! indeed!).

Time for migration. Yes!
My husband and I are not great at identifying waders but at least we tried:)
 (if our identification is wrong, please leave your comment!)

In the UK, when we saw a curlew, it was definitely a Eurasian curlew. BUT!
In Japan we have the Eurasian Curlew AND the Far Eastern Curlew and both can be seen at the same place at the same moment.

Hmmm...

If my memory is right, I was told that the ones in the first 2 pictures are Eurasian Curlews (Daishakushigiダイシャクシギ) and the last one is a Far Eastern Curlew (Hourokushigiホウロクシギ).

a Far Eastern Curlew

This estuary has a very narrow sandy area and birds land quite close to the embankment where people can stand and watch them, which is lucky for us birdwatchers.

another Far Eastern Curlew. The far eastern curlew has a browner plumage than the Eurasian ones in general and its belly and vent are buff coloured (compared with the white belly and vent of the Eurasian Curlew)

Even though we were not sure which one was which at that time, the curlews are still a gorgeous bird to observe:)

Swallow Roost

Thousands of Barn Swallows gathered to roost in the reedbeds by North Imbanuma Lake. This spectacle can be seen only at this time of year just before they head south for winter.

Kujukuri Beach

On a sunny but windy day, I drove to Kujukuri hoping to see some interesting seabirds.

YES!!

There were three juvenile Black-winged Terns (Hajiro-kurohara-ajisashiハジロクロハラアジサシ) among nearly 100 Common Terns (Ajisashiアジサシ).

My first ever sighting of this species:) Yay!

Lots of Common Terns
I was a bit confused because they didn't look like what I had known as Common Terns with a red beak. I learnt that the ones seen in the UK and these are a different subspecies and the colour of their beaks is the biggest difference between them.

A male Little Tern (Koajisashiコアジサシ) was trying hard to attract his mate:)

Over the water, hundreds or even thousands of Streaked Shearwaters (Oomizunagidoriオオミズナギドリ) were shearing over the water.

It was a glorious day!